‘THIS QUIET SKY,’ BY JOANNE BISCHOF

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‘THIS QUIET SKY,’ BY JOANNE BISCHOF. Review of the 2014 historical fiction novella. All review text is © Rissi JC

Only recently did I discover the pen of Joanne Bischof, however one novel in and I know this is an author I’ll need to read more from. That one work of fiction is poignantly beautiful, so much so that my usual preferences for a specific era were blown out the window and I read her book, Though my Heart is Torn in (mostly) one day.

STORY: Sarah is struggling in her studies, particularly, math and thanks to her teacher, she gains a tutor in the kind, Tucker. He’s a boy who soon reveals there more to him than Sarah believes, and he’s also the one boy who changes her life forever.

This Quiet Sky, by Joanne Bischof | Novella Review

‘THIS QUIET SKY,’ BY JOANNE BISCHOF #bookarchives #HistoricalFiction Click To Tweet

When a story such as this comes across your radar it’s tough to properly speak to its qualities. It’s the kind of story you hope you give the credit it richly deserves. That and then some is the dilemma of This Quiet Sky. Like its title it’s the quiet kind of story that leads us into the heart of its characters; particularly Sarah’s since she’s our narrator, and beautifully illustrates what selfless love and the choice to love looks like. Both Sarah and Tucker are darling as individuals and together in their too few scenes. He’s particularly kind and loving as a boy struggling to learn relationships. I enjoy the early scenes (the story moves quickly because of its limited pages) between them and we even glimpse similarities to a certain school girl whose name is spelled with an “e.”

In Sarah, there is a character whose view of love might “bother” or be thought unrealistic to some people, when in reality, it’s one of the most healthy realistic instances of love in modern literature – and yes, I do realize I’m being ambiguous with this sentence, but guys, I can’t give away what happens!

This Quiet Sky has the nostalgic charm of Anne of Green Gables (that schoolroom scene – aw…) before it beautifully collides with the mistrials of life, and leaves the reader reaching for a Kleenex box over its poignant and bittersweet conclusion that is sure to make us think about life, love and the important things we cannot forget – and don’t want to. Tucker and Sarah’s story is definitely not a tale to miss; it’s a kind of love not easily forgotten, and while that may be the most heartbreaking variety of all, Sarah proves to be a heroine whose hope is in more than love.

This is one of those novellas that’s strength is in being unafraid to have am weakness and sometimes those are the most memorable and beautiful stories – in those, we can often find the genuine gifts life shows us. This Quiet Sky is such a gift for any reader open to receiving it.

About the Book:

Author: Joanne Bischof
Publisher: Mason Jar Books
Source: Author Provided
Publication Date: 2014
Find the Review elsewhere: Goodreads | WordPress
Add the Book: Goodreads
Genre: Fiction; Historical YA Novella
Rating: 5 out of 5

Sincere thanks to the author, Joanne Bischof for a complimentary e-ARC copy of this book for reviewing purposes – thank you,
Joanne!

About Rissi JC

amateur graphic designer. confirmed bookaholic. bubbl’r enthusiast. critical thinker. miswesterner. social media coordinator. writer.

22 comments

  1. Wow this is an amazing review Rissi! I love the Cadence of Grace series and would love to read this "intro" of sorts! :)

    1. Me too, Laura – I read the middle book of the series and oh, my! Beautiful. Looking forward to MORE from Joanne and I hope you enjoy this one too. :)

  2. I haven't read any of Joanne's books, but I've been wanting to read her debut for a while – just need to find the time. ;) this book sounds really good!

  3. Wow, this novella sounds amazing! I've only read one of Joanne's books but I remember loving her writing style. And if this one is anything like Anne of Green Gables, I'm in! ;D Thanks for sharing, Rissi.

    1. Thanks for visiting, Jillian – and it is amazing! Or I hope you think so too – sometimes I wonder if I overhype books for potential readers but it's how I feel, so…! :)

  4. Hallo Rissi & Ms. Bischof,

    I happily remember speaking to Ms. Bischof last year whilst I was visiting the bookish blogs quite regularly back then; part of why I am scaling back my hosting of blog tours as I miss a few things I started off doing but have lost the hours to enjoy doing of late. My free time has become a bit reduced as all of us face time to time. Therefore, I decided to re-organise my blog a bit, and have a better balance of what brings me the most joy! :) I love visiting & conversing with book bloggers, but that has taken a bit of a backseat and I think that is one reason I do not always see comments on my blog in return.

    I wanted to say that I loved the heart-warming depth to Bischof's writing style — even simply through meeting her on a blog tour and/or a blog hop (my memory fails me a bit) — she was kind enough to let me add her badge to my sidebar and it has been a reminder of the books I want to ILL via my local library (I had six months to wait per title) and a stepping stone of how I'm finally able to show my hybrid reading life as I dance through INSPY and Mainstream markets; same as you truly! :)

    Was the gratitude note for the author supposed to be so small in typecast? Wow. I could barely see it at the end of your post! :( I loved the Anne of Green Gables reference and I hope this one day goes into print or if she publishes more novellas, perhaps a collection that works with the series?

    I'm am most definitely creating a list of novelists I want to read starting between December – January and Ms Bischof is at the top of the list alongside Julie Lessman! I look forward to conversing with you about her series!! :) Thanks for sharing the joy of this novella!

    1. Hi, Jorie. Thanks for reading, visiting and sharing your bookish news. It is tough to keep up with all of the blog tours and such, and I know you do a LOT more than I ever have – good for you. :) Glad you're so interested in getting the word out about fiction.

      Joanne's style is warm, welcoming and genuinely beautiful. I'm happy she released this in the interim while she's looking to publish another full-length novel. It was a nice surprise.

      As to your question: yes, generally I do leave the "where I got the book from" in small type. It's not meant as a slight to authors or publishers, it's just usually how it winds up – I'm forever grateful to publicists and authors who so kindly send out these books.

      Just as a side note, this one is in print too!

      Yay! Hope you enjoy your list of must-read novelists. :)

  5. Rissi, thank you so much for this beautiful review! It was one to be savored!! I am so blessed by you… and the comments of your blog followers. *waving to everyone*! Such a treat to read all these fun thoughts and to see that there are Anne fans here (wahoo!). Thanks for being such a bright spot in my Indie journey with This Quiet Sky!

    1. Congrats on your first Indie release, Joanne; it's working well for you I must say. Looking forward to whatever publishing news you have next – and again thank you most sincerely for giving me the chance to read this. It was lovely and I look forward to future rereads. :)

  6. And now you've officially intrigued me! I mean, you mention Anne with an e and you convinced me with that alone. ;) I'll have to find me a copy soon!

    1. LOL, well, I hope you aren't disappointed with that statement, Kara. ;) This story isn't the same exactly as Anne of Green Gables, but it has reflections of it plus I'm just happy to read something new by Joanne! Hope you can find a copy and will enjoy it. :)

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